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As a veteran Lake Superior paddler, Sam Crowley is used to rough water. Nutrition with Donna Marlor As I write this, I hear the staccato tap of water dripping off the edge of the roof. Fifty-six degrees on March 12 here in Marquette, Michigan, begets a major meltdown – and for the kayakers in town, a heady case of paddling fever. Paddling fever is a year-round condition for Sam Crowley. Sam, a "retired" computer engineer turned sports masseuse, is a certified American Canoe Association advanced open water instructor trainer educator and co-owner of Sea Kayaking Specialists.
Originally from the Chicago area, Crowley replanted his Midwest roots in 1992, and was drawn to the surf of Lake Superior in Marquette. He worked as a guide for Northern Waters Adventures, primarily in the Pictured Rocks National Park area, for several summers. Then in 1994, Crowley and Nancy Uschold started Sea Kayak Specialists. "Nancy made a solo trip around Lake Superior four years ago, Crowley recalled. "About the same time, I had seen a slide-show presentation on circumnavigating Ireland and got inspired to start seriously planning my own solo trip around Ireland." On my dining room table, Crowley spread out a map of Ireland and traced the route he expected to take. He said the 1,200-mile paddle would take him from one small town to another and along a great deal of uninhabited coastline, similar to Lake Superior. Crowley's frame of reference is the 300 miles he paddled from Thunder Bay to Wawa, during which he encountered the equivalent of high seas at gale force wind conditions. That was a rough trip, he admitted, but a confidence booster, too. Kayaking in open water subject to such wind conditions taxes both a paddler's aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. Crowley put it in even simpler terms: "You have to be trained to paddle long and slow, and hard and fast." From a nutrition/fuel standpoint, this type of ultra-endurance excursion requires careful planning. Before embarking on his Ireland trip, Crowley knew he would have to anticipate his need for food and drinks, staying hydrated, meeting caloric needs, keeping food safe and sanitary, "taste fatigue," not to mention the psychological fatigue caused by his isolation and highly repetitive activity. As Crowley and I talked about specific menu items, we recognized parallels between a kayaking trip like this and long solo sailing excursions, dog sled racing and mountaineering expeditions. All of these endurance activities share common features: They involve back-to-back-to-back days of exercise, low-level intensity activity interspersed with periods of high intensity, adverse and unpredictable weather conditions and mental fatigue that affects physical performance. I told Crowley that not a great deal of nutrition research had been done on long distance kayaking trips. But drawing on other sports, I could predict some of the nutrition challenges he would face. Here were some of the issues I raised. What to do about taste fatigue Among my first questions for Crowley was, "What is your menu plan?" He e-mailed me a menu that featured only three basic breakfast choices and three lunches. I was immediately concerned he would suffer "taste fatigue." Sam's Ireland trip was going to be a solo adventure lasting 12 weeks, including 84 days of paddling. His longest previous trip was 25 days. "That's a long time to be eating freeze-dried food," I told him. Crowley's menu (which can be viewed at www.seakayakspecialists.com /Ireland2007/) was going to need some work. I encouraged him to supplement his diet with fresh fruits and vegetables whenever he could conveniently access them on shore, and to rotate hydration drink flavors. Research from the Tour de France has clearly shown that getting behind on caloric intake is the surest way to see a drop in performance. Although Crowley's trip was not a race, inadequate calorie intake would also place him at greater risk for coming down with a cold due to a weakened immune system. "It's a damp climate," Sam admitted. "I know that hot tea and appealing food is important for me, just from my Lake Superior experiences." To spice up Sam's menu, I suggested tweaking his meals with individual packets of Dijon mustard, ketchup, horseradish sauce and pickle relish; for protein variety, different flavored and foil packaged tuna fish and smoked gourmet wild salmon (available through www.Vital choice.com); and a variety of cheese types. Calories needed to maintain energy Crowley's paddling plan sounded ambitious to me, but I'm a novice kayaker. "I find I can consistently do 25 miles a day for five days a week," he told me. But based on his previous experience, Crowley had concerns about managing recovery. "That's where I know rest and diet are important," he recognized. I calculated a typical day's menu to be about 3,900 calories, including 500 grams of carbohydrates with a 50 percent carbs, 15 percent protein and 35 percent fat macronutrient distribution. For someone Sam's weight, that was right on target for a "typical" day of moderate paddling. Sodium would need to be in the range of 7,000 milligrams per day, possibly on the high side of requirements but OK as long as Sam stayed hydrated. My estimates for calorie requirements and macronutrient distribution were based on several assumptions: Sam was an elite paddler and an efficient paddler, which meant he expended less overall energy. I also made the assumption that the majority of time Crowley would be in a relatively low-to-moderate heart rate zone, with very little time spent in a max heart rate zone. This assumption could be blown out of the water, pardon the pun, by inclement weather that might require steady, high-intensity paddling effort. Under bad weather conditions, the switch would flip, and Sam would go from an aerobic, mixed fuel source of fat and carbohydrate to primarily a carbohydrate fuel source that would greatly tax his glycogen reserves. Under conditions of high exercise intensity, I warned Sam that he would have to supplement his basic diet with about 30 grams of carbohydrates per hour while exercising. Psychological fatigue Before we got into actual meal specifics, I asked Crowley if the solo aspect of the trip bothered him at all, or if he felt pretty comfortable with the idea of spending long hours alone at sea. Crowley answered via e-mail: "In general I am comfortable. The stress it raises is primarily from a lack of socializing." He went on to explain the stress. "Stress will come from two areas primarily: wet weather and significant wind/waves. Rainy weather introduces low-level stress that is constant, especially since one cannot just sit around and relax." He continued. "The west of Ireland will be wet (locals say the difference between winter and summer is the temperature of the rain). Wind and waves will produce a significant stress when conditions are rough. There will be anxiety because of being in an unknown place so one can never be sure if they are paddling into something overwhelming. The physical stress is very high in these conditions as well. There is no chance to relax and most strokes have a lot of power in them. I do keep hydrated thanks to my hydration pack and I keep Clif and Balance bars in my life jacket so they are easily accessed for a quick snack." Avoiding the bonk Crowley got me thinking about a recent late-season ski outing during which I experienced a low blood sugar dip. It came on in a rush. Fortunately, I had a Clif shot and bar in my waist pack. With shaking hands, I was able to recover and keep skiing. Naturally, I was alone when this happened, so it reinforced what I tell athletes: Always, always go out prepared to stay out longer than expected. This led me to ask Crowley if he had ever bonked badly while out paddling? If so, did he recognize what was happening in time to do something about it? "No," he replied. "The closest (I came to bonking) was a 30-mile paddle during which we skipped lunch (a bad decision) so we could finish the day sooner. We biffed our navigation and ended up paddling an extra six to seven miles, or close to two hours more. Lunch was replaced with a Clif bar, which I usually use for a between-meal snack. That evening we were both wiped out. It took another day to recover from that decision … and that was the third day in a row of covering 25-plus miles in big seas, so we were tired already." I suggested Crowley wear a gel flask of diluted sport gel around his neck and tucked under his life vest, much like cross-country ski racers wear during races. Then if things really got choppy, without having to open packaging, he could easily get some essential fuel. The fun aspect of nutrition I often get requests from athletes who want a nutrition plan for training and racing. The diet histories they supply rarely include any mention of alcohol, although it is a beverage that is commonly consumed. A brewski now and then is not a problem. Unfortunately alcohol, a sugar, cannot be stored by the body as glycogen, nor is it metabolized like carbohydrates. Beer has calories, but it is not a great fuel for exercise. Naturally I had to ask Sam about the likelihood he'd be drinking some Irish beer at local pubs. "I expect to," he said. "It is part of the culture there. Pubs are short for 'public places,' and often in small towns it is where everyone stops by to chat and catch up on the news. Much different than American bars." Then he asked, "Doesn't beer have some B vitamins?" Sam, true to his full-blooded Irishness, has a good sense of humor. And with a little Irish luck, he should have a great paddling adventure around the Emerald Isle. For the latest on Sam's Ireland paddling voyage, go to www.seakayakspe cialists.com/Ireland2007/. Donna Marlor MA, BSN, RD holds a bachelor's of science degree in nutrition and nursing from Northern Michigan University and a master's degree in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She is a former NMU cross-country ski team member and still enjoys competing in skiing and running at the master's level. Donna resides in Marquette, Michigan, with her husband and chocolate Lab. Donna can be reached at www.DonnaMarlor.com.
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